Yes, quite a few German companies have unusual ownership structures. VW is owned by amongst others the state government and Bosch by what amounts to a charitable institution.

Yes, very interesting, and because they’re still closely connected.

Germans are pretty conservative people (ruled by CDU most of the time since the 1980s at least, a conservative party), and seem quite attached to their put-put engines. It wasn’t until this past year that the German market sold more EVs in absolute numbers than sold in Norway, a country with only a small fraction of…

Perhaps that was his argument but it’s not a very good one. ZF is a global leader in hybrid and transmission technology. They’ve been supplying Mercedes with hybrid drivetrain components since 2008. Saying that Mercedes’ DNA may be “permanently disrupted” because they are using a third-party supplied drivetrain is…

Stricter rules are taking effect in 2020, so they’re supposedly withholding sales until 2020.

It should’ve been written as “new cars registered.” In 2017, Germany had ~46,000,000 registered passenger cars (not vehicles, so excluding motorcycles).

I think this is part of the issue, toyota built the business case for 86/BRZ based on what it thought people wanted based on the armchair critics. they wanted a small, lightweight, relatively cheap sports coupe.

No. Look at what ZF actually does. He thinks it’s bad that a high end automaker is building a car with the same parts used in much less expensive EV’s and trying to sell it at a premium.

Count me as one of those guys. But I test drove from Carmax, by myself for 30 minutes, and took it on some turny hilly roads. Yawn inducing. I remember saying out loud at one point “come on already”.

I think there is a BIG line of Tesla killers that got not very far. But media loves to forget those and just market the next Tesla killer.

The Model S and 3 are conventional looking enough to verge on bland (handsome nonetheless). The Leaf and Zoe’s B segment hatch styling is a little unusual for the U.S, but blend in quite nicely in Europe. Not sure your point makes sense now that the iMiev isn’t one of the only BEVs on the market.

Remember when it was being called a “Tesla killer”? Pepperidgefarm remembers.

This is my shocked face that Mercedes is having a hard time moving EQC’a in it’s home market. Germany faces some if the same obstacles to EV adoption as the US. The infrastructure is inadequate, range anxiety (really?) and dealer reticence to stock units and pay for upgrades. It will happen... slowly. Until we find…

Most of the interweb critics have never owned or even driven a BRZ. The internet brings out a lot of armchair experts and bench racers. The issue with the BRZ is that people expect it to have Corvette power. It’s not that kind of car. Think of it as a hardtop Miata. Because that’s what it is.

The irony is that in most circumstances, foreign automakers only give us the most powerful engine options for the NA market. Or, we get larger engines that aren’t an option in the home country.

Same thing happened to me. Then I got in a used IS250 and it felt like a rocketship by comparison. These toyobarus are the only cars that feel slower than my S2000 (below VTEC).  I'd rather drive a Sentra.

why am I not suprised ?

These days, people are flocking to SUV and Sportcar is the very least concern unless it has something that really stand out to make people consider buying it (ex : 720s for sheer performance, F8 because of Ferrari Brand, Corvette for best bang for the buck, etc)

Here’s my point of view regarding…

I finally test drove one for funzies after always hearing about how slow it was.. so I was prepared for it... it still surprised me by how slow it was.

Potential BRZ buyers aren’t going to SUVs IMO. They’re going to a better performance value. WRX (in-house!), MX-5, GTI, Mustang, Charenger.. hell, even a Camaro!  There’s so many better options out there.  Damn.. what a time to be alive/a car enthusiast.

1. It costs too much for what you get. My GTI cost me $21k out the door and, I would argue, is a better car in nearly every way.